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Hi all,
Looking to get some bike packing kit for weekend trips away. Will be fitted to a Boardman CX (drop bar CX bike, with regular non-flared bars). Looking for a saddle pack and bar bag.
I recently borrowed my brothers Apidura kit - 17 litre saddle bag, 9 litre bar bag, and 4.5 litre accessory pocket (that clips to the bar bag) - so these are my bench marks.
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Saddle bag:
I'd quite like something similar sized to the Apidura, but it looks like that is quite a big pack compared to others - 13litres looks more common, which would probably be fine.
Want something as stable as the Apidura. Ability to add some stiffener rods at a later date if riding rougher stuff (like the Alpkit Exorail) would be great.
Would really like it to be waterproof (would rather not faff with internal dry bags etc)
I think I would rather a one piece pack, rather than a holster and dry-bag. However, open to both options
Bungee straps and rear light loop would also be nice.
Ability to use with a dropper post (don't need full travel) would be lovely too!
Budget - £80 ish? Happy to buy used.
Should I just wait until November and get the Lomo when that comes back in stock? Is anything else remotely close for the price (or even double the price)? Podsac large? Topeak Backloader?
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Bar bag:
The Apidura bag was great in all respects apart from it being a little narrow in diameter - my sleeping bag would not fit in.
I'd like something that:
Is 15-20litres, dual entry, waterproof. Doesn't need to be bikepacking specific. Would rather not need a separate harness, but could be persuaded (eg a harness plus Lomo dry day). Ability to attach an accessory bag (like the Apidura) would be great. Not crazy expensive.
Apart from potential premature wear issues, am I going to beat the Alpkit Airlok Duale 20l ( https://www.alpkit.com/products/airlok-xtra-dual-20-litre)? I'm thinking of using a foam block to push the bag away from the headtube to reduce cable rub too.
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Accessory bag:
I loved the Apidura accessory bag - I found it super useful for storing the bits I needed during the day, and the zip allowed me to access it while riding. Bike light hoop was handy too.
So, I'm looking for a similar accessory bag that easily attaches to the bar bag/handlebars, is waterproof, easy to access while riding (ie no roll top), and cheaper than the Apidura!
Any input would be much appreciated!
Many thanks,
Duane.
Only ever used my Wildcat luggage set (with Alpkit dry bags which are excellent value; also the tapered 13L one is perfect for the seatpack). They do an add on bag for the front which is dead handy (extra capacity is very useful if you are picking up food to cook later, saves hanging carrier bags off your bars 😂). Sadly they are no longer trading but are still available 2nd hand along with loads of other bits on the Barebones forum, probably worth joining if you’re looking for a bargain.
I like the holster setup but tbh not tried it the other way. Suspect all the top brands are similar in terms of quality, obviously some of the cheaper stuff is good too.
Think the stiffening rod is unnecessary with the better made kit as long as it’s done up tightly, that’s probably more about not having anything round the seat post so you can use a dropper properly.
Notice you didn’t mention frame bag, so maybe you’re not taking loads of camping stuff, etc, I find they’re very handy tho as you can move heavier stuff (extra phone battery etc) to the middle of the bike.
Is this for summer or year round? Your requirements are for a lot of space.
This weekend (see my Dales wanderings thread) I had a Wildcat Tiger seat harness with 5 litre dry bag that held all my bivy kit (tarp, bivy bag, sleeping mat, quilt, thermal top and bottoms) apart from the tarp pole which was strapped to the frame; an Alpkit top tube bag holding tools, spares, water filter and a small bit of food; an Alpkit Stem cell holding an Alpkit MyTiMug which contained- stove, fuel, windshield, lighter, tea bags, porridge for breakfast; A Revelate feed bag containing trail snacks, reading glasses.
Total space was 8 litres or so, call it nine to allow for those 0.2L extras we all forget.
I prefer harness systems for a handful of reasons:
1. If the bag gets punctured/wears out then I just have to replace that not the whole thing.
2. I can use a suitably sized bag according to needs: a small bag in summer and a bigger one in winter.
3. Easier to pack off the bike then mount to the harness than try and pack things on the bike.
There's not many dropper post compatible seat packs, most are from US manufacturers and either not available via retail outlets here or very expensive once you've accounted for postage, etc. Most I've seen are around 8 litres in size simply because there isn't a lot of room once you've dropped the post, typically you still need around 150mm of space for even the smallest of bags.
You might struggle to fit a large bag on the handlebars - most dry bags get both longer and wider as the size increases and you've only 400mm, maybe 420mm to play with and the Alpkit 20L bag is big.
I'd be looking at reducing what you take rather than thinking of bags big enough to take what you have and/or think you need.
As above, I have 13L Bag on the front + pouch if required. Tried it with bigger bags but you start to notice the extra bulk on the front.
@zilog6128 - Wildcat ceased trading in March but are starting up again later this year. Don't know the full story but Steven Shand is now part of the setup.
That’s good news! Be interesting to see what new things they come up with but I hope they bring the core range back too! Would be cool if they offered custom stuff again as well, def a gap in the market there IMO.
For my #gradventourer I use a Revelate Harness and a 13L Alpkit drybag on the front. Usually supplemented with a Revelate Yakataga front pouch for bits and pieces. That's about the maximum load I'm happy to carry there.
My usual seatpack is a Revelate Terrapin. It's normally around half full.
Don't dismiss the harness & drybag approach. It makes packing/unpacking and loading/unloading much easier and efficient, especially important when it's pissing down.
Good seatpacks, well packed, don't need stiffening rods. It's added weight and a point of potential weakness and wear.
As a slight highjack....is there a general consensus for Passport bags? Thinking they might be ok for someone just dabbling with multi-day trips (thinking frame bag in particular)
Passport Bags? Not come across them before. A quick search suggests water resistant not proof. Look very similar to a few other brands on the market suggesting a bit of catalogue shopping. They are probably fine and it would take a few trips to find if there are any flaws which even the best brands like Wildcat and Revelate have.
@whitestone, care to share your bivi kit makes/models? I'm impressed you can get that lot in a 5l bag. My bivi (granted ex-army, so bombproof rather than small) comes in at about 5l!!
@UrbanHiker - sure. It took a while to get to this point but there's no real compromises involved and it's all stock or nearly stock items.
Tarp - Trekkertent cuben fibre 2.5m x 1.5m in size. http://www.trekkertent.com/home/home/9-cuben-fibre-flat-tarp.html I had a few extra tie-outs added but otherwise it's standard.
Pole and pegs - Bearbones carbon fibre pole and pegs. I use the bike's handlebars for the other "pole"
Bivy bag - Borah Gear ultralight side zipper http://borahgear.com/sidebivy.html , I had one of the standard modifications where the bug netting is a letterbox rather than the entire head area.
Sleeping mat - Exped Winterlite https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/sleeping-mats-c58/all-sleeping-mats-c146/exped-synmat-hl-winter-m-regular-sleeping-mat-p6648 - I could have gone with a cheap Multimat for this trip as the Exped is quite bulky and ground temps didn't need that amount of insulation.
Quilt - Cumulus 150 https://backcountry.scot/product/cumulus-quilt-150/ , I've the older version.
I'd also got a Sea 2 Summit inflatable pillow, can't be roughing it now can we?
The only "How MUCH!!!!?" item is the tarp, a silnylon version like the Alpkit Rig 3.5 would substitute and actually pack a little smaller since DCF though lighter is slightly bulkier.
This is everything "in action" on the JennRide earlier this year. The tarp behind is my SMD Gatewood cape being used by my wife.
whitestone
Member
Passport Bags? Not come across them before. A quick search suggests water resistant not proof. Look very similar to a few other brands on the market suggesting a bit of catalogue shopping. They are probably fine and it would take a few trips to find if there are any flaws which even the best brands like Wildcat and Revelate have.
Yeah my thinking is that those trips would also tell me what features I do and don't like to help buying posher setup a bit easier. Figured that there will always be something you don't like the first time you ride with luggage